2026 Minutes

Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on Tuesday 3rd February 2026 in the Village Hall

Present: Cllr F Parish (Chair), Cllr R Brabbin Cllr H White, Cllr M Clayphan, Cllr L Hughes, Cllr J Oldfield, Cllr M Kinning, Cllr A White and Mrs S Phillips (Clerk)

In attendance: DCllr D Bellamy, DCllr B Green, CCllr C Vernon

25/146                 Welcome by the Chair

                                The meeting was declared open with everyone welcomed.

25/147                 Apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received and accepted from Cllr C van Straubenzee.  Cllr C Ashton was not present.

25/148                 Declarations of Interest

                                None.

25/149                 Reports from County District Councillors

                                County Council– reported by CCllr Vernon

• A 2.99% increase In council tax has been proposed and is due to be approved on 20 February.
• Kilnside solar farm application has been withdrawn.
• The next plan for the A1 improvements is taking place by ensuring all unsafe gaps are closed.
• Electrical Fire Safety week is taking place; a home online safety check can be completed.
• Consultation is taking place on Educare Service on how to deal with families at risk of entering the care service.There is an online tool for improving adult care by using technology which can help people stay in their own homes a lot longer.                       

                                District Council – reported by DCllr Green and DCllr Bellamy

• Budget setting has taken place with a proposed 1.99% increase due to savings that have been put in place.
• Food caddies will be distributed shortly, but will not be emptied until April 2026.
• The 300 year anniversary of Sir Isaac Newton’s death in 1727 is to be recognised.A meeting has taken place with Grantham, but other villages need to be included as it is currently very Grantham heavy.
• Distinctive Developments have appealed against the planning decision with the hearing taking place on 25 March 2026.Representatives from the parish council are able to attend.
• The second stage of consultations for the Mill Lane proposal has been put back until July/August, which will be the last chance for objections.

It was noted by councillors about concerns of flooding with the location of new housing proposal on Mill Lane.                             

25/150                 To approve the minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 6th January 2026

Minutes of the meeting held on 6th January 2026 were approved as a true and accurate record and signed as such by Cllr Parish.

25/151                 Outstanding Items

• The broken window in the VH is still to be repaired.
• The spring in the playpark is still to be dealt with.Cllr A White agreed to deal with the issue.

25/152                 Financial Matters

• Payment’s approval

The following payments were approved.

Payments Made: Since 5th January 2026

Upcoming payments – to be authorised

• Monthly Accounts

A breakdown of current spend vs budget was shown along with all cashbook entries.The clerk was asked to investigate where £3981.03 play park reserves has been logged.

25/153                 Operational Matters

• Councillor Responsibilities

Cllr Clayphan was asked to look at councillor responsibilities to see if there is any area that she would be interested in helping with.

25/154                 Village Hall Matters

• Rental Agreement

No changes have been made to the rental agreement which were agreed and accepted by all councillors.

Cllr Parish confirmed that she has spoken to the VH Management committee about how the parish council would like to help with making running the VH much easier.

• Village Hall Alarm

It was unanimously agreed to accept the revised quote of £1071.59 inc VAT to replace the keypad of the alarm in the VH.

Options were discussed on how many key fobs would be required.Cllr Parish is to enquire with the security company if only a key fob is needed to deactivate the alarm or if a code is required also.A list of keyholders is needed.

25/155                 Play Areas update

A discussion took place on Witham play park and it was made clear that if it was developed by the parish council, this would mean the parish council would then be responsible for its upkeep.  There could be potential in the future with applying for S106 funds.     

Cllr Kinning and Cllr Hughes attended a funding workshop and have received new information as well as backing up what was already known.  It was explained that all funding pots should be applied for and then choose the most appropriate when successful.

As a future project Cllr Parish would like to look at updating the VH with the possibility of the community fund being used.

Cllr Oldfield confirmed that there are no updates with regards to maintenance on the play park.

25/156                 Planning Applications

Planning application S25/1862, Land to the West of Thistleton Lane and South of Harold Road, South

Witham changes have been made.  It was requested that the Clerk ask for an extension so this can be discussed further at the next meeting.  The current deadline is 17th February.

25/157                 Correspondence

a)            A resident has been in contact and asked for a mirror to be installed on High Street to aid with exiting Water Lane.  After discussion it was confirmed that permission would be needed.  Cllr Brabbin agreed to contact the resident.

25/158                 Policies

                                The following policies were approved.                   

• Code of Conduct
• Complaints
• Training
• IT

It was highlighted that litter and broken glass is in the field owned by Distinctive Developments on Moor Lane. The field is currently knee deep in water.  It was requested that the clerk contact Distinctive Development to make them aware of the situation and ask for this to be removed.

The meeting was declared closed at 8.10pm.

Date of next meeting: Tuesday 3rd March 2026